When was the United States Marine Corps founded?

The Continental Congress established the precursor to the United States Marine Corps, the Continental Marines, during a meeting in Philadelphia on Nov. 10, 1775. Following the end of the Revolutionary War and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1873, the Continental Marines ceased to exist.

The Marine Corps was formally re-established on July 11, 1798. Shortly thereafter, from 1801 to 1805, the Marines carried out attacks against the Barbary pirates along the coasts of Northern Africa. It was these strikes against the Barbary states that gave the Marine Corps the most famous lines from the Marine Corps Hymn: "'From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli / We will fight our country's battles on the land as on the sea.''